Gruppo Campari exits still wine

ByJo Gilbert

Published: 13 June, 2017

Gruppo Campari has sold Loire Valley producer Château de Sancerre, and with it, exits from the business of selling still wine.

The spirits group, which has brands like Aperol, Appleton Estate, Campari, SKYY, Wild Turkey and Grand Marnier within its portfolio, announced that it has sold the Sancerre-based wine business for €20.5 million.

The sales comes only after a year after the château, which produces wine from the Sancerre AOC in the eastern part of the Loire, joined the group in June 2016 following the acquisition of Grand Marnier liqueur.

The company said the decision to sell the château was made as part of attempts to streamline the business by divesting its non-core assets, which have so far totalled €117 million.

The château’s wines as well as buildings, vineyards, vinification, production plants and inventory have been sold it to Maison Ackerman, the wine division of Terrena which has interests in French agriculture.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz, Gruppo Campari’s CEO, confirmed that the sale ends the groups’ dealings in still wine to instead focus on its status as a player in the global spirits industry.

“With the disposal of the Sancerre winery, which follows the sale of the Italian and the Chilean still wine businesses, finalised over the last year, Gruppo Campari fully exits the still wine business, thus continuing to streamline its non-core activities and increasing its focus on the core spirits business. Since the beginning of 2016 we have divested non-core assets for a total value of approximately €117 million.”

The Château de Sancerre winery has over 55 hectares of vineyards in the Loire Valley where its origins go back to 1919.

It was founded by Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle, the creator of Grand Marnier liqueur.